The Missouri Legislature is off to a slow start, which may come as no surprise given the end of the last session.
On one hand, Democrats are seeking retribution for the procedural move Senate Republicans used to override their filibuster on four pieces of legislation, Missouri Independent editor-in-chief Jason Hancock told KCUR’s Up To Date on Wednesday.
But Democrats also want to slow down the pace, to prevent some of the costly mistakes they say occurred by pushing bills through without enough time for consideration.
Errors calculating the cut to the capital gains tax, overlap in the gerrymandered congressional maps, and other budget mistakes might have been avoided without the urgent push to pass the bills, according to Democrats.
“The Republicans have given them plenty of ammo when it comes to pointing out problems that have come from, as Democrats would argue, moving too fast,” Hancock said.
One way Senate Democrats are jamming the system is by blocking several gubernatorial appointments.
In the House of Representatives, legislative action is starting to take shape, but the session started with a vote to sanction one of its members. Democratic state Rep. Jeremy Dean was removed from the committees he served on, is required to take sexual harassment training, and must stay at least 50 feet away from Republican Rep. Cecelie Williams, to whom he sent an obscene text message.
For Republicans this session, enacting Gov. Mike Kehoe’s phased plan to cut state income taxes is a key priority. Democrats oppose the plan, fearing expanded and increased sales tax will increase the burden for low wage earners, but they have little power to prevent the will of Republicans, who hold the supermajority.
“If the supermajority decides they have their eyes on something, they can put the pedal to the metal over there and move things through quickly,” Hancock said.
- Jason Hancock, editor-in-chief, Missouri Independent
